The Voice is an independent community news site based in Aurora, Ill including coverage of Naperville and the far west suburbs of Chicago with a focus on Kane, Kendall, DuPage, and parts of Will counties.

Aurora firefighters in line for pay raises after COW

The city government of Aurora’s 175 firefighters will have a new, four-year contract that includes pay raises and an increase in their contribution to health insurance premium payments, if the City Council approves the contract in its November 13 meeting.

The item was discussed in the Tuesday, Nov. 6 Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting at City Hall.

The contract runs from January 2017 through December 2020. According to Alisia Lewis, director of Human Resources, the firefighters’ last contract expired at the end of 2016.

Members of Aurora Firefighters Association Local 99 will receive wage increases of 2.25% for 2017; 2.5% for 2018; 2.5% for 2019 and 2.5% for 2020.

City Council members will vote on raises and increased insurance premium payments for the Aurora Supervisors Association (ASA) from April 2017 through December 2020.

The ASA includes supervisors in these City of Aurora departments: Parks and Recreation, Public Property, Motor Vehicle Parking System, Water and Sewer, Water Production, and Public Works.

If approved, the contract will provide for a 2.5% pay increase for 2018; 2.5% for 2019 and 2.75% for 2020. The ASA contract expired in April 2017, Lewis said. There are 16 bargaining members in the group.

• In other business, Council members will vote November 13 on whether to purchase the Motel 6 at 2380 N. Farnsworth Avenue for $3.4 Million.

The city government has been negotiating the purchase of the hotel for two years. Fox Valley Inn, at 2450 N. Farnsworth Avenue, was purchased by the city for $3.6 Million earlier this year.

Plans for the Farnsworth area include realigning Corporate Boulevard so that it aligns with the traffic signal at Premium Outlet Boulevard. Economic development opportunities are another reason given for the motel purchases.

Scheduled to be voted on during the next regular Council meeting are:

• A possible contract with Ameresco, Inc., of Framingham, Mass., to build solar energy generation facilities on 20 acres of Aurora Airport property and on a 10-acre landfill at Sullivan Road and Route 25. The Company has worked with airports and on landfill projects in other cities. For no cost to the city, Ameresco would do research and preliminary designs for the facilities.

• The purchase and installation of a digital sign for the corner of Indian Trail and Church Road in Ward 1. Alderman Tina Bohman said the sign not only would be a communication tool for those who live in her ward, but for residents driving through that part of the city. Police Department information, Amber Alerts, and city event information can be shared in a more immediate manor than could be accomplished with mailings, she said.